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U.S. Xpress is spec’ing Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes (rebadged German* Knorr-Bremse SK7) on the steer axles of more than 2,800 tractors, including vehicles manufactured by Freightliner, International, Kenworth and Peterbilt. Delivery began last year and continues in 2016. “When it comes to safety, we are proud to be recognized as an industry leader, and we work very hard to maintain and improve on that position. This means the brakes we choose must meet an exceptionally high standard for safety – as well as for performance and value,” said Gerald Mead, senior vice president of maintenance for U.S. Xpress. “Bendix air disc brakes help us repay the trust and confidence our customers and drivers place in us.” “The Bendix ADB22X air disc brake offers straight, stable stops along with greater reliability due to virtually no brake fade or degradation of stopping power,” the company said. “Uptime benefits of the technology include longer brake lining life and quicker pad replacement, leading to lower maintenance costs. The internal self-adjustment mechanism can help lower the risk of out-of-adjustment brakes during roadside inspections, which can affect Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scoring. While routine maintenance is still important with any brake system, air disc brakes – unlike drum brakes – do not require any additional maintenance associated with out-of-adjustment brakes.” “In addition to safety, reliable performance and total cost of ownership are essential to today’s fleets. The team at U.S. Xpress understands and strives for that goal every day. It’s a true honor to be a partner with them – a responsibility we take very seriously,” said Scott Burkhart, Bendix vice president – sales, marketing, and business development. “Working together, we have helped the team at U.S. Xpress equip their vehicles with solutions for outstanding performance and responsiveness for their drivers as well as strong support when it comes to both driver and service training.” * Germany’s Knorr-Bremse AG of Munich bought America's Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC from Honeywell International in 2002.

Why has Ford stubbornly resisted installing a version of it’s popular UK diesels in the F-150 is a mystery. Then again, why doesn’t Ford sell the global market Ranger and Everest SUV in the US market? FYI - Like the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota’s 4-Runner, Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado (Lexus GX), the Everest is a “real” SUV with body-on-frame construction (Ranger platform), rather than a crossover based on stilted car platform. Ford's global diesel engine portfolio includes: 237-258 horsepower 3.0-liter V-6 270-272 horsepower 3.6-liter V-8 325-339 horsepower 4.4-liter V-8 The global market Ranger Rover Sport is available with the 258hp Ford 3.0L diesel, and the Ranger Rover is available with Ford's 339 horsepower 4.4L V-8 diesel. The US market Ranger Rover is only available with the smaller 3.0L V-6.....the larger 4.4L V-8 diesel is not available.

2017 Ford F-150 to get Range Rover 3.0L V-6 diesel http://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/30/ford-f-150-diesel-3-liter-engine/ Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43765-ford-preparing-diesel-powered-f-150/

With the Brussels and Istanbul airport attacks in mind............ A CNN investigation in December revealed that the nearly 300 aviation police officers at O'Hare and Midway airports are not only unarmed, but they are instructed to "run and hide" in the event of an active shooter. How do you feel about that?

You're asking what the difference between a 5-speed TRL107 (1076/1078) and a 12-speed TRTXL1070B (air-actuated compound) ?

Over the last 10 years, Neil Mansell Transport has been spec’ing Viesa evaporative air conditioning, and Lubecore automated lubrication systems. The Viesa system is produced in Canada and distributed in Australia by Briskair. Lubecore is also a Canada-based manufacturer. http://www.viesa.ca/products.asp?pid=59 http://www.briskair.com.au/our-products/viesa/ http://lubecore.com/automated-lubrication-systems No wonder the Australian Super-Liner earned such a good reputation....... http://www.bigrigs.com.au/news/mansell-group-lubricates-fleet/2553195/

Owner/Driver / June 30, 2016 Mat Duff started out with Neil Mansell Transport (http://www.mansell.com.au/), went hauling livestock, but is now back doing heavy haulage behind the wheel of a Kenworth T909. Neil Mansell Transport’s distinctive mustard and red trucks have been working hard across Australia for many years, providing transport services for the oil and gas industry. Mat Duff drives one of Mansell’s Kenworth T909s pulling a five-axle Lusty Low Loader float. It’s Mat’s second stint with the company. He left after 12 months, went cattle carting, and has been back with Mansell’s for the past two years. According to Mat, one of the advantages over doing heavy haulage work over livestock is the variety. "With livestock, depending on who you are working for, you generally cover a certain area, whereas with this outfit you could go almost anywhere," he says. Mat was welcomed back when he asked to return to Neil Mansell Transport. Now, in the T909, he travels anywhere the work takes him, which could be from Queensland to Penola in South Australia’s south-east, and up to Kununurra in the Western Australia’s north. He says it’s a great company, plus he enjoys driving well-maintained trucks, which it needs to be for the bush and desert runs. Mat is enthusiastic about the Kenworth brand and enjoys driving the T909 with its EGR Cummins. Apart from having a new turbo recently fitted, it’s been a smooth ride over the past couple of years. "It is serviced regularly and we stay on top of all the maintenance." Related reading - https://www.flickr.com/photos/57597298@N08/sets/72157625855026353/ .

Owner/Driver / June 30, 2016 When the going gets tough, you take your Western Star to Western Australia. That’s what Tasmania’s Rod Watson was forced to do when the logging tried up in the ‘apple isle’. Tasmanian Rod Watson, together with his wife Tanya, operates Rod Watson Heavy Haulage. The couple have known both good and tough times in the industry and currently operate a C16 Cat-powered 2007 Western Star 4900. Rod has had thoughts about updating, but others have advised him to stick with the tried and true. The Western Star has AirLiner rear suspension, and he says the 600hp Cat engine goes like a train. "I’ve put a bigger non-wastegated turbo on it and polished the manifold," he says. "With 70 to 80 tonne on, you can pull away from other trucks carrying 50 to 60 tonne." Rod’s first driving experience was with Ted Kingston in Lauderdale, just outside Hobart, driving a 1974 N12 tri-axle semi tipper carting sand for Boral. Later, after doing time "learning the job on logging trucks", Rod bought his own NH Volvo. Although he was happy driving Volvos, he preferred American drivelines, so his next truck was a day cab Western Star pulling a float. At one stage Rod and Tanya had five floats working across the state and it was all looking good: "We went from turning over $160,000 when we first bought it 12 years ago to a $1 million turnover a year, and as much work as we wanted." The pair had had a couple of subbies working for them as well, but virtually overnight it all turned sour. "The rug got pulled out from underneath us," Rod says. All the Watson’s equipment was sold except for their 2007 Western Star 4900, a little dolly and 3x8 float. "We had to go to Western Australia or go broke," Rod says. "One of our customers gave us a load to Port Augusta. I ended up in Karratha; I got as far away as I thought I could. "Everyone welcomed us with open arms; there was so much work going on. I think we turned over $25,000 in the first five days. I got there at the right time — things were booming." Rod was subbing to Peter Tippett Haulage and spent most of his time working on the support projects for the mines, building railways and water pipelines. He says working over in Western Australia was an eye opener, but he always had it in his mind to build his business back up in Tasmania. Rod spent 12 months in the west, only making it back to see Tanya once during that time. Now firmly established back in Tassie, Rod Watson Heavy Haulage concentrates on any machinery moves within the island state, For the full story on Rod and Tanya Watson, and their big 2007 Western Star, see the July 2016 edition of Owner//Driver. .

Magnificent. Looks as though it rolled off the line just last year.

Volvo to makes billions in Canada Goteborgs-Posten / June 29, 2016 Volvo Group company Mack Defence will deliver 1,500 [Renault Trucks Defense VAB MK 3] army trucks to Canada's armed forces, writes Dagens Industri. The contracts are worth 4.7 billion kronor (US$554.9 million). Deliveries will begin next summer and be completed in the fall of 2018. The trucks will be assembled in Sainte-Claire, Quebec, at Volvo, Prevost touring bus factory. According to Volvo, its Renault Trucks Defense unit had previously focused on dealing with the French military, but now has as a strategy to try and sell in other parts of the world. This is the first time that Volvo Group has sold a European military truck to a defense customer in North America.

Volvo Trucks Press Release / June 29, 2016 .

Scania Group Press Release / June 29, 2016 Scania is focusing on developing autonomous vehicles for controlled environments like mines, ports and terminals. .

Commercial Carrier Journal / June 29, 2016 Hino Trucks this week held a ceremony at its Williamstown, W.Va., plant to commemorate the production of the 50,000th Hino truck. The milestone 2017 model 268A caps a record growth period for Hino in which the company has seen a 30 percent increase in 2 years. Yoshinori Noguchi, Chairman of Hino Trucks, says the growth in sales can be attributed to a combination of improved vehicle offerings including a fully connected vehicle platform that is standard across all Hino models. “It’s gratifying for our sales team, our manufacturing team, and our production team to have reached this significant milestone in our company’s history,” he says. “This production level is testament to our trucks longevity and to the commitment of our customers to support a quality product. The Hino brand has risen from humble beginnings in the U.S. to become the premier leader in the medium duty truck market. We have built a solid foundation on which we plan to build consistently and substantially with the help of an ever expanding portfolio of standard features.” .

Truck News / June 28, 2016 Schneider has announced that of the company’s more than three million loads moved last year, 99.999% were theft-free. In an age when cargo thieves have run rampant, Schneider said it has incorporated multiple overlapping elements to prevent theft, with carriers and shippers working together from the beginning of a shipment to its final delivery. Schneider employs multiple technologies, procedures and training to strengthen the supply chain and achieve best results. “The technologies and processes we employ to keep freight safe are absolutely best-in-class, but our secret weapon is the careful and observant driver force we have behind the wheel of every load,” noted Brian Bobo, vice-president of enterprise security. “Schneider drivers’ skill-sets are kept sharp through a three-prong approach: We thoroughly train during on-boarding, we regularly communicate the locations and types of thefts that are occurring industry-wide and we incorporate theft prevention techniques into our quarterly training sessions.” Schneider said CargoNet’s annual theft analysis shows the industry lost 890 loads in 2015, averaging $185,297 per incident. “Schneider continues to lead by example with their layered approach to cargo security,” says Anthony Canale, general manager at CargoNet. “Through their understanding of technology, intelligence and application of cargo theft trend data, they truly have a unique safety and security application. Their use of CargoNet’s theft prevention and recovery network is just one example of their commitment to securing their customers’ freight. We are honored to be a part of Schneider’s continued success.”

Volvo has stated that the upcoming revised (available mid-2017) D13 that will feature turbo compounding (D13TC) provides a 6.5% fuel efficiency improvement over 2014 D13 engine. However, Volvo has yet to state how much more fuel efficient the D13TC will be over the revised D13 (available October 2016), which features common rail fuel injection, the new "wave" piston and new (lighter by 29lb) camshaft. In all fairness, I have to acknowledge that Scania introduced turbo compounding some 25 years ago in 1991, and XPI extra-high pressure common rail fuel injection way back in 2007.

Volvo’s I-Shift with Crawler Gears Boosts Performance, Productivity Heavy Duty Trucking / June 29, 2016 "Extreme startability" and low-rev cruising at highway speeds are the main advantages of a new crawler-gear option for Volvo Trucks’ I-Shift HD [aka. mDrive HD] automated manual transmission, demonstrated for customers and trade press reporters June 27-28. One or two added ratios to the builder’s 12-speed I-Shift allows easy starting under heavy loads and on steep grades, said Wade Long, director of product marketing, who oversaw the event at the North American headquarters of Volvo Construction Equipment at Shippensburg, Pa. The low-low ratios also allow very slow movement for special jobs like concrete and asphalt paving for mixer and dump trucks. With the “C-1” gear, a Volvo VHD with the 14-speed version of I-Shift crawled at 0.6 mph, compared to about 2 mph for a 12-speed gearbox. “This lets us go after more vocational applications than we formerly could,” Long said. Extreme startability also allows use in tractors pulling extra-heavy combination vehicles, as the transmission will be approved for gross combination weights of up to 220,000 pounds, with prior application approval by Volvo engineers. The I-Shift with Crawler Gears, as it’s formally designated, goes into production in October, and will be available in two versions: • 14 forward gears, including one low crawler (19.38 ratio) and one ultra-low crawler (32.04 ratio) with an overall ratio of 41.08 • 13 forward gears, including one low crawler (17.54 ratio) with an overall ratio of 22.35 Thanks to overdrive top gears, a Volvo truck “can go down the highway at 1,330 rpm at 70 mph” depending on axle ratio and tire and wheel size, said Magnus Koeck, vice president, marketing and brand management. This saves fuel, speeds trip times and boosts productivity. Heavy-duty versions of the I-Shift, whether in 14-, 13- or 12-speed configurations, have gears and other hardware that have been hardened to withstand frequent shifting in rugged operating environments. The transmission received additional updates to improve shift performance and overall durability, including improved split synchronizer components, an updated engaging sleeve and main box parts fashioned from reinforced material, Volvo executives said. A revised countershaft design helps enable faster shifting between gears, while new software enhancements – Volvo’s I-See predictive cruise control feature – can help improve fuel efficiency by learning and adapting to the road. Although I-Shift penetration in highway applications reached 83% in May, only about 25% of construction-truck customers chose automated transmissions, Koeck said. The crawler-gear options are expected to increase that percentage.

ZF, WABCO unveil collision avoidance system that autonomously steers trucks around stopped vehicles Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / June 28, 2016 Global truck components suppliers ZF and WABCO unveiled June 28 the next progression in rear-end collision avoidance technology. The Evasive Maneuver Assist system goes beyond active braking systems by giving tractor-trailers the ability to autonomously steer around a stopped vehicle should the truck detect it cannot brake quickly enough to avoid the crash. The EMA active steering system is the next “critical step” in bringing autonomous vehicles to real-world application, the companies said in a joint statement. The system was announced at a global ZF press event being held this week in Aachen, Germany. ZF CEO Stefan Sommer says the EMA system should be ready for deployment in three to four years. EMA combines WABCO’s OnGuard active braking system, which has been available in the U.S. market for several years, with ZF’s electrohydraulic ReAX steering system. The EMA system uses sensory data, like radar, to detect a stopped vehicle ahead and offer drivers visual, audio and tactile signals if the truck senses an impending rear-end collision. Should the driver not take action quick enough to avoid the crash — and should the truck detect that road conditions or stopping distance prevent the system’s automated braking system from stopping the truck in time to prevent the accident — the EMA system will take control of the truck’s steering system to steer around the stopped vehicle and prevent the looming rear-end crash. If the system detects that adjacent lanes are occupied, it will brake as hard as it can in an attempt to prevent the crash or at least mitigate the impact. Drivers can override the EMA system at any time during the autonomous evasive maneuver by simply taking control of the steering wheel, brakes or throttle. “Our innovative function simultaneously evades, brakes and stabilizes automatically — at all speeds, with any load in the semi-trailer truck and with any type of semi-trailer,” says Mitja Schhulz, senior VP and general manager of commercial vehicle steering at ZF TRW. The EMA system is designed to find a middle ground between steering too lightly to avoid a crash and too heavily to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic. The system will steer either into an open lane or onto a hard shoulder and bring the truck and trailer to a safe stop, ZF says. Per the companies’ joint press release: “The system constantly calculates the optimal evasion route and adjusts the steering angle accordingly. The software algorithm continuously monitors and compares the calculated and actual steering trajectory.” The EMA system also leverages existing electronic stability control systems to prevent rollovers.

Fleet Owner / June 29, 2016 AACHEN, GERMANY. Integrating the latest innovations in vehicle sensors, braking, and steering systems, ZF Friedrichshafen AG (ZF) and WABCO Holdings Inc. (WABCO) on Wednesday will demonstrate the prototype of an “industry first” collision avoidance technology for commercial vehicles, the Evasive Maneuver Assist (EMA). EMA marks another critical step toward enabling autonomous driving in the commercial vehicle industry, as ZF CEO Dr. Stefan Sommer outlined during the company’s Global Press Event here this week. The system is being introduced for the first time in the prototype vehicle ZF Innovation Truck 2016. “We try to have strong partnerships with companies that have technologies we don’t have or don’t want to produce on our own,” Sommer said. “We try to combine those technologies so that, at the end, we are able to provide the overall system of intelligent or autonomous driving vehicles.” EMA combines the capabilities of WABCO's OnGuardACTIVE, the advanced, radar-only collision mitigation system, with ZF's electrohydraulic ReAX power steering system. A radar sensor identifies moving or stationary vehicles ahead and alerts the driver via visual, audio and haptic signals of impending rear-end collisions. EMA controls both the longitudinal and lateral movements of trucks and trailers in challenging driving situations at high-speed, thereby, helping to avoid rear-end collisions. The assistant function detects if the automatic emergency braking system or driver braking is sufficient to enable a stop before hitting the obstacle. If braking is insufficient, as may be the case on slippery roads or if traffic hazards appear suddenly in blind curves or after hill crests, the EMA directs the truck with its trailer (initiated by the steering motion of the driver to the right or left) independently and safely toward the desired open lane or hard shoulder, even at maximum speed. “Our innovative function simultaneously evades, brakes and stabilizes automatically—at all speeds, with any load in the semitrailer truck and with any type of semi-trailer,” says Mitja Schulz, senior vice president and general manager, Commercial Steering Systems at ZF TRW. With sudden manual avoidance maneuvers, there is always the risk that the driver steers too lightly to avoid the obstruction, causing a truly critical collision with an offset crash. Alternatively, the driver may steer too abruptly, heavily turning in, causing the truck to swerve or even tip over or crossing more than one lane and endangering others. EMA is designed to be able to prevent these scenarios. During automated control, the software constantly calculates the optimal evasion route and adjusts the steering angle accordingly. The software algorithm continuously monitors and compares the calculated and actual steering trajectory. The integrated roll-over protection function in the EMA is adapted for such extreme driving situations. The system also is designed so that the driver can override EMA at any time during the autonomous evasive maneuver by simply taking control of the steering wheel, brakes or throttle. “We are ready to apply this with any OEM,” Sommer said. “Normal development lead time is three years, so by 2019 or 2020 we could be in the market with these technologies.” Fleet Owner will have additional coverage from the demonstration later on Wednesday. Video - http://www.zf.com/corporate/en_de/press/list/release/media_23233.html Press Release - http://www.wabco-auto.com/media/media-center/press-releases/press-releases-single-view/news-article/wabco-and-zf-unveil-breakthrough-evasive-maneuver-assist-safety-technology-for-commercial-vehicles/?cHash=6cc475d51339fc89462495f22e5c9646

Volvo Touts Fuel Efficiency, Driver Productivity of New Crawler-Gear Option on I-Shift AMTs for Off-Road Trucks Transport Topics / June 29, 2016 Managers of Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) talked up the improved fuel efficiency and increased driver productivity of their new crawler-gear option on the I-Shift automated manual transmission designed for applications where very slow speeds are used. Volvo hosted a ride-and-drive event for reporters and editors June 28 at its construction equipment facility here to demonstrate the capabilities of I-Shift with crawler gears on its VHD model vocational trucks. The press “had an opportunity to experience some of the very first ones we’ve built,” Wade Long, director of product marketing for VTNA, said in an interview with Transport Topics. The transmission is available on Volvo’s new 2017 engines that will have to comply with the federal greenhouse-gas update effective Jan. 1. It will be available in November on Volvo’s D13 engine and in January with the D11 and D16 engines. Volvo announced the I-Shift with crawler gears in March, saying the AMT would be “appropriate for both vocational and on-highway applications.” The new AMTs are intended for concrete mixers with curb-pouring capability, asphalt paving “and other low-speed tasks, as well as improved startability for heavy-haul,” the OEM said. The AMT comes in two versions: 14 forward gears, including one low crawler and one ultra-low crawler; and 13 forward gears, including one low crawler. The 13-speed is typically used for highway and heavy-haul, while the 14-speed is for off-road, vocational applications such as mixers and dump trucks, Long said. The event took place on the construction equipment demonstration area with a VHD off-road dump truck with the 14-speed, ultra-low crawler gear. A benefit of crawler gears on vocationals, Long said, is improved fuel efficiency. “It allows us to speed up the rear-axle ratio.” A typical dump truck, for example, would have a 3.73 or 3.90 rear-axle ratio so it could have “great startability,” but when it’s cruising down the highway at 60 to 65 mph, the engine would operate at 1,500 to 1,600 rpm, Long said. With the ultra-low crawler gear, “we allow you to spec a very fast ratio — down in the 3.07 to 3.21 rear-axle ratio,” Long said. But while a truck is cruising down the highway at 65 mph, “you could be running in a sweet spot of the engine — about 1,350 rpm. “So every 100 rpm we slow down the truck, we save about 1.5% in fuel efficiency.” “We are giving a vocational truck operation like a highway truck when it’s running down the highway,” Long said. The other benefit is driver productivity, he said. The crawler gears allow a driver to pull up with heavy loads on steep grades and operate at “very, very slow speeds,” as low as 0.6 mph, he said. This is ideal for applications such as concrete mixers doing curb pouring, Long said. Automated manuals do not require a clutch pedal for operation. Volvo introduced AMTs in 2001 and brought them to North America in 2007, Long said. Today, about 88% of VTNA’s trucks use I-Shift. As for cost, Long said automated manuals are more expensive than manual transmissions, due to electronics and other features. However, “in general, when we look at the driver productivity and the fuel-efficiency gains, we look at the total lifetime of product. That may be something that we can balance out a little bit when we look at a total cost of ownership.” When asked about challenges in developing the I-Shift, he said that “the biggest challenge really was not the product. The mechanical design of the product worked very well.” Rather, “it was convincing the operators that the product can do all the start and stop, can shift correctly. “Drivers like to have the sense of control of the vehicle. They were the biggest resistance to moving the product into the marketplace.” Ultimately, however, Long said that drivers feel “much more rested in a day. They’re not having to shift all the time.” Class 8 trucks have a place for classic manual transmissions, fully automatic transmissions and automated manuals, Long said. For example, automatics currently are very good for trucks with frequent starts and stops, such as trash pickup, he said, but AMTs fulfill “a big portion of the application requirements” needed today.

Volvo: Class 8 orders low, inventories growing, but '17 tech shows promise Fleet Owner / June 29, 2016 Noting, as many have, that retail sales for Class 8 trucks in North America have lagged this year, Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) execs say truck dealers' inventories are swelling and present a problem for the market picking back up. At the same time, the latest 2017 fuel-efficiency technologies that've come about thanks to federal Greenhouse Gas Phase I regulations are rolling out and opening new possibilities. "There's pretty slow order-taking in the industry overall," contends Magnus Koeck, vice president for marketing and brand management at VTNA. "Everyone is facing the same challenge." Manufacturers have continued churning out trucks at fairly high rates — as has Volvo, he notes — "and when the market slows down, it just builds up in terms of inventory out at dealerships." Still, the company continues to project North American Class 8 sales this year of 250,000 units. VTNA also sees some bright spots in the trucking industry spectrum, and the OEM just began this week demonstrating its latest advancements in engines and transmissions both with the first wave of customers and Tuesday morning with a group of reporters. The company specified when new 2017 tech unveiled earlier this year goes into production and did some show-and-tell with the hardware and how it works (watch for our breakout look next week). One standout has been VTNA's Wave Piston technology going into D11 and D13 heavy-duty diesel engines. The company essentially has built a better mouse trap in this case, redesigning the piston crown itself with six "tabs" or divots that better concentrate and shape the fuel mixture to promote combustion. In testing, the OEM was showing the new pistons reduce soot output by a very significant 90%, so VTNA got new testing equipment to check it again and make sure. "We thought our testing equipment might be faulty. It wasn't the equipment," says Wade Long, director of product marketing at VTNA. "What is soot? It's unburnt fuel," he points out, explaining that the Wave Piston improves flame propagation for improved fuel economy and greatly reduced soot. The technology going into Mack and Volvo engines could mean changes may be possible regarding the need for treatment like diesel particulate matter filtering. Volvo's I-Shift transmissions are another star of the show for 2017, particularly with new "Crawler" add-on gears designed as a lower-cost alternative to provide extreme slow-speed control valuable in vocational and heavy haul-type applications while allowing a rear-axle ratio that gives fuel efficiency at highway speeds. Vocational trucks "can drive down the highway at a decent rpm when they're cruising and they come back home instead of running at 1,700 rpm or so trying to do 65 mph," says John Moore, a product marketing manager at VTNA. "Lots of people say, 'It's a dump truck, I don't care.' Well, if you have 50 of them and you're talking a 3% gain in fuel efficiency, that adds up fast," Moore tells Fleet Owner. "We're excited even to be able to be talking about fuel efficiency with vocational vehicles. It also aids in engine longevity and reliability as well; it's less stress when you're running an engine at 1,500 rpm instead of 1,800 rpm, less vibration." With the flexibility it allows, VTNA's Koeck contends that the I-Shift transmissions "definitely can do all the work that the customer needs." VTNA has six more predictions and observations for the heavy truck market: 1. The prices of diesel/ crude oil will remain on the low side. "We anticipate overall that diesel prices on average will remain low at about $2.27/gal. and [the price of crude oil] about $50/barrel; I think it was around $47 yesterday (Monday)," Koeck notes. 2. Manufacturing will stay about even. The North American manufacturing market will remain about flat for this year, VTNA predicts, part of the reason orders are flagging. 3. Long haul will decline as regional/ short haul gains. VTNA, like others, is tracking trends toward more regional- and short-haul — and likely also for day cabs and corresponding equipment — and away from long-haul. "Four, five, six years ahead, we see that long haul will come down a little bit, actually. It has been at roughly half [of the U.S. market] or a bit more, 53% or so, and that will continue to go down to about 43%," predicts Koeck. "Some of that is regionalization of distribution networks, and some is drivers wanting more home time; the driver shortage impacts it as well," he adds. As to what effect the now-expanded Panama Canal will have on North American freight transportation, however, "it's still early to be seen," notes Koeck, and some are skeptical. Should more — and/or larger — ships come to U.S. Eastern Seaboard ports rather than West Coast ones, "that will impact transportation distances, and ultimately product offerings," he adds. 4. Construction will gain. The construction industry is a bright spot VTNA sees for trucking, and is targeting higher vocational sales as a result. "Construction spending will grow," Koeck says. "That we see now and in the coming years." 5. Bargain diesel likely means marginal near-term outlook for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and other alt fuels. "Eventually, diesel prices and oil prices will come up and [alternative fuels] will grow, but today CNG is about 2% overall in the U.S. [heavy trucking] market. We monitor that as well as anyone else, but we think that will remain flat for now," says Koeck. 6. Proprietary power and transmission installations also are gaining. Particularly now that OEMs have had to address their heavy duty engines' fuel efficiency as part of the last wave of GHG regulations, heavy trucks may see more vertical integration. VTNA has, according to Koeck. In 2008, the first year its I-Shift transmissions were built in North America, Volvo installed them in about 15% of new trucks. As of May 2016, the company says I-Shifts are now going into 88.8% of new trucks. Volvo engines, meanwhile, went into about 53% of new trucks in 2008, and Volvo power now goes into 94.5%. .

The Wall Street Journal / June 29, 2016 Industry pushes to get emissions credits for making gains to A/C, brakes, wiring Newer air conditioners are playing an outsize role helping auto makers earn credits toward meeting federal fuel-economy standards, prompting more to adopt cutting edge refrigerants while calling on regulators to let other commonplace parts get similar treatment. The car industry has been racing to make cars more efficient, investing billions of dollars in battery development or aluminum-body designs capable of closing the gap between today’s fuel-economy requirements and more stringent standards set for coming years. Changing the way cars are cooled was responsible for about 40% of the U.S. emissions credits reported by the industry in 2014, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent data. “It seems funny to single out air conditioning as a way to get credits since improving it is only a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of tons of carbon dioxide vehicles put out each year,” said Brandon Schoettle, project manager at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. “But it isn’t fiction—air conditioners generate greenhouse gases and they cut fuel economy since they draw energy off the engine.” The EPA rewards auto makers willing to change the refrigerant in air conditioners, upgrading compressors and using lighter-weight designs. Up to 7% of the credits auto makers can earn to offset vehicles sold with higher emissions can come from these tweaks. Air conditioning’s influence in helping meet standards is only expected to grow, Mr. Schoettle said. The EPA with other agencies will this summer launch a review of rigid standards taking effect by 2025, with any revisions expected by 2018. Auto makers will argue that other parts—ranging from electric door latches that use less copper to electronic steering systems that eliminate hydraulic components—should get credit, too. Those changes are among a long list of moves being made to lower vehicle weights and curb energy consumption. Consumers, now paying low prices for gasoline, are showing little appetite for efficient cars. The average vehicle sold in May achieved 25.4 miles a gallon, according to Transportation Research Institute data, essentially flat from a year earlier. EPA standards require fuel-economy to more than double by 2025 to 54.5 mpg. “We urge the government to focus on aligning their standards with the marketplace realities of consumer demand,” says Gloria Bergquist, a lobbyist for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The air conditioning credit is just one example of a “holistic” approach to lowering the harmful greenhouse gasses that automobiles produce. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers lobbies on behalf of General Motors Co. , Toyota Motor Corp. and others. The group also has argued auto makers should get credit for autonomous-driving features, such as automatic braking. As those components lead to better traffic flow, emissions could be cut by a third. The EPA focuses on air conditioners because of the hydroflourocarbons gasses they produce. These gases are believed to be a major contributor to global warming since they take years to dissipate in the earth’s atmosphere, a spokeswoman said. The agency estimates AC improvements can eliminate up to 9% of greenhouse gases generated by vehicles. The air conditioning credit scheme has had its critics, but auto makers say the skepticism is unfounded. “You hear glib comments that this is nothing but a gimmick and it’s frustrating,” Gary Oshnock, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s manager of fuel economy, said. “This is something we put a lot of resources in.” To earn credits, auto makers rely on auto suppliers to provide new solutions. Honeywell Inc., for instance, invested $300 million to increase production of HFO-1234yf, a new refrigerant that is 10-times as expensive as R134a, the formula widely used by the industry. However, R134a can take up to 13 years to dissipate in the atmosphere, HFO-1234yf dissipates in a few weeks. “Moving the world’s car production to a low global warming refrigerant is equivalent to removing 30 million cars from the road,” said Ken Gayer, a Honeywell executive in its refrigerants business. He expects 18 million vehicles to use HFO-1234yf by year’s end, just a fraction of the globe’s light-vehicle population. Jaguar-Land Rover has switched all of its 2016 models to the new refrigerant. Fiat Chrysler has moved about 80% of its fleet and GM expects its entire fleet to change by 2021. Another move is to retool compressors. Variable compressors, built by companies including Japan’s Denso Corp. , draw less energy from the engine because they don't operate like old compressors that operate at full power until the desired temperature is reached, shut down and then restart that process all over again. (In both car and home HVAC applications, variable compressors have the ability to adjust power output to the compressor, rather than merely on-off functionality in traditional systems) “Next to the engine, air conditioning is one of the most complicated systems in a car,” Andrew Clemence, Denso’s thermal engineering vice president, said. It is “one of the contributors between a car’s real-world fuel-efficiency and what is listed on the [window] sticker.”

“You look at what happened in the Turkish airport, these were suicide vests. It's not that difficult to actually construct and fabricate a suicide vest.” “So if you have a determined enemy and individuals who are not concerned about escape, that they are going into it with a sense that they are going to die, that really does complicate your strategy in terms of preventing attacks.” “I am worried from the standpoint of an intelligence professional who looks at the capabilities of Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIS] … and their determination to kill as many as people as possible and to carry out attacks abroad.” “I'd be surprised if Daesh is not trying to carry out that kind of attack in the United States.” “If anybody here believes the U.S. homeland is hermetically sealed and that (ISIS) would not consider that, I would guard against it.” “We've yet to really thwart Daesh's ability to reach beyond the Syria-Iraqi borders and put in place some of the plans and preparations to carry out attacks. I am very concerned we have not had the success against Daesh in that environment as we've had in the core areas of Syria and Iraq.” “Turkey has been cracking down on some of the transit of foreign fighters who are flowing into, as well as out of, Turkey, and they are part of the coalition providing support, allowing their territory to be used by coalition aircraft, so there are a lot of reasons why Daesh would want to strike back. It was a suicide bombing [which] is usually more a Daesh technique.” CIA director John Brennan

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